Rains and Evictions Push Guwahati Street Vendors Into Livelihood Crisis

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: For most residents, monsoon waterlogging in Guwahati meant traffic congestion, delayed journeys and daily inconvenience. For street vendors, however, every spell of rain brought a sharp decline in earnings, damage to stocks and, in some cases, the loss of an entire day’s income. The situation remained particularly difficult in areas such as Hatigaon, Wireless and Rukminigaon, where recurring waterlogging disrupted pedestrian movement and kept customers away from roadside stalls and markets.

At Hatigaon, a vegetable vendor said even a brief spell of rain brought business to a standstill.

“This entire stretch of Hatigaon remains submerged under water even after a short spell of rain. Our sales drop significantly. On a normal day I earn around Rs 1,800, but on rainy days I barely earn Rs 500 or Rs 600. Customers do not come because they themselves are struggling to move around. Most of the time, I simply close my shop and go home,” the vendor said.

Fruit and vegetable sellers faced greater losses as their stocks were perishable. Unsold produce often deteriorated quickly, leaving vendors with little opportunity to recover their investment.

At Wireless, vendors similarly reported a sharp fall in customer footfall following even brief rainfall.

“Footfall comes to a standstill, and sales become almost nil. I somehow try to protect my shop so that it doesn’t get washed away. On a normal day I sell vegetables worth around Rs 2,500, but during rain my sales fall to nearly Rs 500,” a vegetable seller said.

Roadside vendors had limited protection against rising water and often relied on plastic sheets, temporary sheds and makeshift platforms to protect their goods. These offered little relief when water levels rose.

At Rukminigaon, tea stall owners also reported falling sales when roads became waterlogged.

“Usually, passers-by stop here for tea. But during waterlogging, nobody stops. People remain stranded and face a lot of trouble themselves. Because of that, our sales also drop significantly,” a tea stall owner said.

For daily-wage vendors, the losses continued after the rain stopped. Many bought fresh stocks each morning using borrowed money or credit from wholesalers. When the stock remained unsold, they were left with debt and little income to repay it.

The financial strain was compounded by eviction drives conducted by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in different parts of the city. The drives aimed to clear encroachments from footpaths and roads, improve pedestrian movement and reclaim public spaces.

However, for many roadside vendors, the same footpaths were their workplaces.

“There’s no such support from any authority. In fact, GMC comes every now and then to evict us. Where do we go? We don’t have enough money to rent a shop. During the monsoon we already face severe losses, so we are left with no choice,” vendors said.

The situation highlighted the difficult balance between protecting pedestrian spaces and safeguarding the livelihoods of street vendors. While unregulated vending can obstruct footpaths and contribute to congestion, displacement can also deprive economically vulnerable families of their primary source of income. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 provides for the regulation of street vending and protection of vendors’ livelihoods, including the role of Town Vending Committees in identifying and regulating vending areas. For Guwahati, the challenge therefore went beyond removing encroachments. It required a mechanism that protected pedestrian spaces while providing vendors with regulated and viable places to work.

Designated vending zones, planned relocation, functional Town Vending Committees and rehabilitation measures could provide a possible way forward. Such planning would also need to account for the city’s recurring waterlogging to ensure relocated vendors were not placed in vulnerable areas.

As Guwahati pursued cleaner roads, improved mobility and more pedestrian-friendly public spaces, street vendors remained caught between the city’s need to reclaim public areas and their struggle to retain a place from which they could earn a living.

For them, a rainy day was more than an inconvenience. It could determine whether they returned home with an income or another day’s debt.

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